All posts in Think Phase

Yesterday I did something new in my business…I created a video. Now this may not sound particularly exciting but, from a personal perspective, when you do something you’ve not done before, and it goes well, the feeling is tremendous.

It’s like when you were a kid and you rode your bike for the first time without stabilsers, or your first kiss or passing your driving test or your first trip on a plane. These things are done every day by thousands but it doesn’t take away the buzz you feel when it happens to you.

I can’t say that this gave me the same buzz as riding my bike or my first kiss, but it still left me with a smile on my face for the rest of the day and a feeling that I’ve achieved something that I was very uncomfortable with. I feel far more confident and will now do more and get better at them….watch this space. (And thank you to Dexter Moscow, who, apart from having the best name ever, gave me invaluable guidance.)

When was the last time you and your team did something different in your business? If you use the same tactics and initiatives for finding prospects, engaging with customers and marketing your products and services then why not get together or take yourself away be creative and come up with something new.

Don’t change your strategy plan without a good reason but there is more than one way to achieve an objective, so get creative. Do something a bit different, try it, test it and, who knows, it might return better results than your old method.

Have you done something different recently? Share them and inspire others.

Last week over $1 trillion was wiped of the world’s stock markets and as of writing this, they continue to fall. The USA’s credit rating was reduced by one agency and the possibility looms that it may be reduced further. The politicians in the Euro zone are papering over cracks that continue to spread and grow. There are renewed talks of a double-dip recession and all the makings of a “perfect storm”. There is nothing to indicate that things are going to get better any time soon but every indication that things could easily get much worse.

With the prediction that unemployment in the public sector will rise it is the private sector that politicians are looking to for growth. With the bank’s profit results looking grim there is little chance that they will be lending anytime soon and help the private sector invest for growth.

Business-as-usual makes no sense in these unchartered waters that we find ourselves in. And make no mistake, these are unchartered waters. No-one really knows how this is going to turn out and there are no historical events quite like what we face today to learn from.

As business owners and leaders, we are “navigating” through these treacherous waters on our own. We cannot hope that we will get through this; instead we must do everything we can to make sure that we get through this.

What you need to do right now is step away, thoroughly assess your business and strengthen as many areas of it as you can. (I understand that for very small businesses this can be difficult but you must find the time to do this and seek help if you need to.)

Carry out a thorough assessment of your company, markets and risks. Think about how you can make sure your business not only survives but comes out stronger.

Here are 7 things to consider to get you going:

Your company – Are you on course to hit your goals? Are there weaknesses in your company that you really must address before they hurt your business? Are there strengths that you can exploit further? Are your processes aligned and working effectively? Do you have the best business models which help you capture as much customer value as possible? An annual self-assessment is a vital part of setting the right goals and plans. Regardless of where you are in your fiscal year, in these extraordinary times, don’t wait, do one now.

People – your people are your best assets…look after them. Make sure they’re motivated and achieving their targets. If they’re not then take responsibility for that, find out what’s wrong and help them. You don’t want to lose them and so make sure they have the training, tools, direction and support they need to return the business you need.

Do they know and embrace your vision and do you empower and involve them when deciding how to implement your plan? Make sure they know how they contribute to the success of the company and how much you value them.

Relationships – Your relationships are crucial, are you looking after them as much as you could be? What would be the effect on your business if they closed? Are you delivering what your customers need? Could you be doing more? Are they struggling in any areas where you could help or introduce another organisation who could help? Aim beyond demand creation. What of your other stakeholders? If you will struggle without them then speak to them, check to see how they’re doing and what help you might be able to give each other. Form stronger strategic partnerships that will help you both survive and grow.

Your markets – Are you delivering what the key players in your target markets need now and are likely to need in the future? Are you aware of what your competitors are offering? You may not need to deliver something better but you need to know if what they offer meets customer needs better than your solutions.Technology advances at an ever faster pace. Are you abreast of these changes? Can you exploit them? There are a number of external influences that can impact your market segments. Don’t be caught out by them; prepare for them and use them to your advantage if you can.

Strategy – If you don’t have strategic planning system for setting and implementing the goals that will strengthen your company and steer it towards your vision then establish one. If you don’t have a strategy plan that details these goals and the objectives and means for achieving them then develop one. If you do have such a plan and the supporting processes then check they’re working and adapt if necessary.

This strategy plan isn’t your business plan but lies at the heart of it. It isn’t your marketing strategy but includes it. This is the plan of the goals you have set and how you aim to achieve them. You cannot stay in control and keep your business on course without one.

Leadership – Lead from the front, inspire, listen, make sure your people and partners know your vision and embrace it. Show drive and determination, show the confidence you have in your people, products and services to win and grow. Know your weaknesses and address them either yourself or with others.

Focus. Know what you need to do and keep on course, don’t be deflected. Guide your people, listen to their concerns and help them. Empower them to be leaders in their own area of responsibility.

Think – If you don’t allocate time for you and your people to think about your company, about your customers and about your markets you will simply keep doing the same thing year-in, year-out and at best survive. Especially in this current economic climate, that’s not good enough. Creative thinking is needed now more than ever. Whether it’s your products and services that your customers and prospects need, your business models to capture more value effectively, your marketing strategies to attract more opportunities, the deals you make, the relationships you build, the targets you set or any number of aspects of your business you should look at, take time to think.Creative thinking is often seen as a luxury which is sacrificed in favour of managing day-to-day pressures. It is NOT. It is vital to the success of a business and, like now, to its survival.

If things do turn around, if those parts of the economy which are growing continue to do so, if the Euro zone is sorted out and no more countries go bankrupt, if countries start to reduce their debts, if banks start lending, if… then carrying out these 7 things and more will still help make your company stronger which is no bad thing and no waste of time.

Start this today; arrange a time for yourself or with your people and begin this process.

Hope is the positive face of uncertainty. Do not hope that things will turn out fine for you and your business. Make sure it does.

If you need help then contact me…it costs nothing to talk.

If you don’t need help that’s great but if you do then get it and do what you can to protect your business against all this uncertainty.

What advice can you give to help others strengthen their business and eliminate uncertainty? Please share.

Do you give yourself some time to think about it from a distance, to look at it from afar so you can see it in its entirety?

It’s not always an easy thing to do when you’re busy spinning plates and reacting to the demands of your customers, people, investors and partners. But it is essential. You really are doing your business, your people and yourself no favours if you stay close all of the time.

As a leader you need to lead from the front and inspire your people to follow and your partners and customers to trust in your judgement. You must steer your ship to keep it on course and be aware of potential hazards along the way. And you need to innovate to stay ahead. You can only do this if you step back and take “time out” from the business. When I say “time out” I’m not talking about your holiday and about re-charging your batteries, vital though that is, but whilst you’re still working.

You can’t simply turn on your creative juices like a tap or be inspiring on demand. For me, creative juices tend to start flowing when I’m driving, walking the dog or down the gym. These juices are distinctly absent when I’m at my desk or in front of a whiteboard.

Recognise those moments when you seem to have ideas and try to use them for thinking. Again, you can’t “think” on demand and it may not always work, but thinking about your business is vital and so put yourself in the best situation for this to occur. If you don’t, how can you possibly innovate? If you want your people to come up with good ideas (and you should) then encourage them to think.

If you want your “brainstorming” meetings to be just that, don’t simply set the meeting and expect your people to be creative on demand. Give them the subjects you want to discuss a couple of weeks in advance and send out a couple of periodic reminders to help keep the creative juices flowing. If possible, aim to have two meetings with a few days in between. The first meeting will hopefully highlight some great ideas, which should then float around in yours and their heads, for the second one to build on. Great ideas may then become brilliant ideas.

This is particularly important when you’re in the fourth quarter of your fiscal year when you should start the Think phase of your stategic planning cycle and set the goals and objectives for the following year.

Your Business Foundation

My name is Christopher Briggs, the author of the best selling book "Your Business Foundation".
I help business owners build their business on a strong foundation that gives them the certainty and control they need to achieve their aims.

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